How parliaments address women’s issues and mainstream gender in their work is crucial for the promotion and advancement of women’s rights. Experience shows that parliaments address gender issues in various ways. Some attempt to mainstream gender in all existing structures. A growing number have established specific parliamentary committees to address gender issues and equality between men and women. Access to comparative information on the different types of committees, their functioning and mandate is key to developing strategies that will enhance parliaments’ actions to address gender equality.
This handbook is designed to assist parliamentarians in carrying out their oversight role on gender by developing a better understanding of the concept, providing a summary of the budget cycle process, discussing gender budgeting, and examining the gender dimensions of parliamentary committees, as well as suggestions for changing attitudes as a strategy for achieving gender equality.
As part of its efforts to strengthen the capacity of parliaments to promote gender equality, the IPU convened a seminar for members of parliamentary bodies that deal with gender matters. The seminar, on The Role of Parliamentary Committees in Mainstreaming Gender and Promoting the Status of Women, was held in Geneva from 4 to 6 December 2006, and brought together over 100 parliamentarians and parliamentary staff from 36 countries.
This report serves not only as a record of the event, but also as a practical tool for parliaments and their members to pursue efforts to mainstream gender equality in their work. Whether it is through specialized parliamentary bodies on gender equality, or through conventional committee structures, parliamentarians are well placed to ensure that legislative outputs address the needs of all sectors of society. We hope that you draw inspiration from this report for your future work.
Nepal is making a new constitution, which will be a culmination of the People's Movement, and thus must be based on the aspirations of the people of Nepal. However gender-friendly Constitution may seem, it will not automatically lead to an increase in gender equality, but the process of constitution making creates an opportunity for women to make some significant progress towards the realisation of their rights. Women should not miss this chance.
There is significant number of women members of the Constituent Assembly. Some of these members are women with great knowledge and experience and understanding of the possibilities that the Constituent Assembly opens up for women. Some of the others may have a less clear idea of what a constitution is and how they can, through this process; contribute to the improvement of the position of women. The purpose of this paper is to explore the issues that women members of the Constituent Assembly, and those who in the broader society will be supporting them and hoping to work through them, will need to address in order to achieve a good constitution for the women of Nepal. It is not a paper of answers - it is more an agenda.
In February and March 2001 the CPA, with the assistance of the CPA Malaysia Branch and the approval of the CPA Executive Committee, arranged a Study Group in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Gender-Sensitizing Commonwealth Parliaments. The aims of the Study Group were set out as:
